MIAMI — Lance Stephenson ran his mouth at the wrong guy (LeBron James), Chris Bosh didn't want a pity party and the Miami Heat let their play speak for itself.

The result? Miami rendered foul-plagued Stephenson ineffective, Bosh scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half and James scored a team-high 32 points.

The Heat led from start to finish, thumped the Pacers 102-90 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday and sent them back to Indiana in major predicament.

"I'm motivated enough to try to get back the Finals," James said of Stephenson's trash talk. "That's motivating enough, and being one of the leaders of this team, I have to do my job. I have to do my part to help us win. That's what it's all about. … I got a smirk out of it."

Miami leads the Pacers 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, and just eight teams in 222 series have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series in a NBA history.

"Our guys believe in what we do," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Our belief is strong that we'll go back and get Game 5 and come back and fight in Game 6."

Since Bosh and James joined Wade in Miami, the Heat regularly take care of business in closeout games, going 13-3.

"It's going to take a better game than we had tonight. It's that simple," James said. "You have to get better every game. Their back is against the wall, but we have to go in with that mindset that our back is against the wall, too.

"We're going to have to work for it. It's not going to be easy, not against this team. It's the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, and they're there for a reason. So we look forward to the challenge."

Too many turnovers, leaky defense, foul trouble again and all-around lack of understanding what's required to win in the conference finals doomed Indiana, and it might be too late to solve of its issues in the next six days.

Since the fourth quarter of Game 2, the Heat have dominated the Pacers with pressure defense and versatile offense. The Pacers trimmed a 94-71 deficit to 99-90 but James ended the Pacers' late-game hopes with a three-point play.

Game 5 is Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). With one more victory, the Heat will become the first team since the Boston Celtics (1984-87) to reach the NBA Finals four consecutive times.

James performance came one day after Pacers guard Lance Stephenson said James' trash-talking at him is a "sign of weakness."

"He's the best player in the world," Vogel said. "You know he's going to get going. You just have to make it difficult on him."

Game 6 in Miami: Heat 117, Pacers 92 -- Miami stars LeBron James, center, and Dwyane Wade, right, lead the cheers from the bench as the Heat put away the Pacers in the fourth quarter.
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Game 6 in Miami: Heat 117, Pacers 92 -- Indiana forward Paul George (24) tries to pass out of a double-team by Miami defenders Dwyane Wade (3) and Chris Bosh (1) during the second half.
Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 in Miami: Heat 102, Pacers 90 -- Indiana forward David West (21) scrambles for a loose ball against Miami forward Rashard Lewis (9) and LeBron James (6) during the second half.
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Game 4 in Miami: Heat 102, Pacers 90 -- Indiana guard C.J. Watson (32) tries to work out of a double-team by Miami defenders Udonis Haslem (40) and Norris Cole (30) during the first half.
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Game 3 in Miami: Heat 99, Pacers 87 -- The Miami bench and fans rise to their feet as Ray Allen (34) knocks down a clutch three-pointer during the Heat's decisive late run.
Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports

George said Stephenson was "barking up the wrong tree." You think? It wasn't the first time James made the Pacers pay after a public slight from Stephenson.

In the 2012 conference semifinals between the Heat and Pacers, Stephenson made the choke sign with his hands across his throat after James missed free throws in Indiana's Game 3 victory. In Game 4, James had 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists in Miami's victory.

James didn't retaliate with the same vengeance, but the outcome was the same.

"I have no regrets," Stephenson said after the game. "I tried to get into his head. I guess he stepped up and got the win. I can take the heat. I can take the fire."

Bosh, who hadn't scored more than nine points in any of the first three games, had 10 points in the first quarter. After Game 3, some Heat teammates had dinner with Bosh.

Did that lift his spirits? "I didn't know I had down spirits," Bosh said late Monday morning. "There's no reason to try and lift my spirits. It's just dinner."

But he came out shooting and opened the game on a personal 8-0 run.

"The one cool thing about it was his teammates were really aggressive to try to get him going," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Bosh. "That's nice to see when your brothers are wanting you to be aggressive and look for opportunities."

Bosh said, "Sometimes, it's all about simplifying things and getting back to the basics. … I felt I could give more to the team. … I wanted to be aggressive and I wanted to play good basketball."

The Heat played Game 4 without forward-center Chris Anderson, whose left thigh was bruised in the previous game.

"Those injuries are tricky," Spoelstra said. "He wanted to fight through, but his range of motion in his thigh isn't great right now."

Spoelstra also changed his starting lineup again, inserting forward Rashard Lewis in place of forward Udonis Haslem, who started Games 2 and 3 in place of Shane Battier. It was a reward for Lewis, who played strong defense against Pacers forward David West in Game 3.

Lewis repeated his low-stat, high-impact performance from Game 3, finishing with zero points and three rebounds to go along with the Heat's plus-14 edge with him on the court.

"Again, I loved his stat line. Really, I just — I get a kick out of it. I think it's great," Spoelstra said. "It's just there's so many different ways to impact the game to win, and he understands that."

Miami bemoaned its slow starts, especially in Game 2 when the fell behind 17-4, and made it a focal point.

James said before the game he had an idea of how he wanted to start the game, and it included a combination of him and Bosh leading the offense. They combined for 18 points as the Heat took a 23-13 lead, the first time it was led by double-digits in the first quarter of the series.

The Pacers' offense was fine in the first half. They shot 51.4% from field but turnovers, foul trouble and bad defense allowed Miami to take a 49-44 halftime lead. Forwards David West and George kept the Pacers close with 12 and 11 points.

Stephenson, who said trash-talking helps his game, had zero points and three fouls in the first half. He played just 9 minutes, 16 seconds in the first half, sitting the final 11:16 of the second quarter after picking up his third foul. Hibbert also had no points and three fouls in the first half.

"I wasn't disappointed in the fight," Vogel said. "I was disappointed in the result."

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LeBron James and Paul George have company. Eight former All-Stars are playing in the East finals between the Heat and Pacers, along with 21 other players. USA TODAY Sports' Adi Joseph ranks them all.
Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports